Frozen Four set to begin, DU recruiting update

Sure wish I was in St. Paul and enjoying another stay at the luxurious The Saint Paul Hotel, my annual home base for the WCHA championships (and current Frozen Four media hotel). Instead of writing live and having a blast at the St. Paul-hosted Frozen Four, I’m fixing inaccurate DU recruiting reports. Could be worse, I’m sure, as I could be trying to make readers understand why Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez will miss his next start because of a cuticle “injury” on his right thumb.

To be clear, DU recruited forward Daniel Doremus and defenseman Matt Van Voorhis have not been switched from the 2012 DU class and are not scheduled to join the program this fall. Doremus, a Colorado native playing for Sioux Falls of the USHL, mightjoin DU a year earlier than originally planned, but Van Voorhis, who plays for the U.S. under-18 team, will definitely not become a Pioneer this fall.

Van Voorhis will play for a USHL team next season (he will not again be eligible to play for the U.S. under-18 team in USHL league games). DU and Doremus and his family will have a discussion after the end of the Sioux Falls season, but for right now, he is still pegged to play another year of junior A.

As I wrote last week,DU will add another defenseman to its incoming freshman class. I know who it is, and it’s absolutely a big name, but my source has asked that the player remain anonymous until his junior A season ends. That defenseman, as well as Doremus and Van Voorhis, have not signed letters of intent, so DU coaches cannot comment publicly about them.

Anyway, I was really looking forward to making a return trip to the Xcel Energy Center, which hosts the national semifinals tomorrow. But we had a nice run. DU and CC each came a victory shy of advancing to this week’s games in St. Paul, and Air Force came up short in overtime against No. 1 overall seed Yale in the first round. Combined, the Pioneers, Tigers and Falcons went 12-6 in the postseason (2-3 in the NCAA Tournament).

It was another outstanding year for Front Range Division I college hockey. I enjoyed the ride. Thank you for reading my stuff.